Just A Word
by PixelatedDreams
Summary: love: lʌv [luhv] 1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. DracoGinny.


A/N: For Shriek. You know who you are.

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series © J.K. Rowling. Summary from Language, some slight violence, slightly OOC. I think. Slightly-kinda AU at some points. Get me?

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** i. average **

Draco is pretty sure he does not love Ginny, especially since she comes from a less-than-average family.

Ginny _ knows _ she loves Draco, even if he _ does _ come from a higher-than-average family.

** ii. burnt **

Ginny, for some reason, likes Draco's scent. It's exotic: like moss that's been in a dungeon too long, and a little bit like burnt sugar. She tells Hermione. Hermione thinks she's crazy.

** iii. chucking **

Draco feels strange. Whenever he looks at that Weasley girl, he feels a bit bubbly.

Malfoys are not supposed to feel bubbly. _ Ever. _

So he chucks some of his potion ingredients at her when Snape isn't looking (or perhaps chooses not to look) and turns away when she looks around. He thought it'd make him feel better.

Instead, it just makes him feel worse.

** iv. date **

Ginny checks off another date on her calender, and scrunches her nose when she sees which date is next. _ Valentine's Day _ . The day created for the sole purpose of making single people feel horrible. She falls asleep with that thought in her head.

And wakes up to the sight of a rose on her bedstand.

** v. explained **

Ugh. Not another demonstration.

Ginny thinks there's nothing worse than listening to Professor Binns drone on and on during the last period of the day, Friday. What's the point of listening to him explaining the purpose elm bark had during the Great Pixie War of 1265? Besides, it's dreadfully hot. She thinks that he purposefully chose the classroom near the lake to spite bored, tired, and hot students. Maybe she'll just take a nap.

Apparently, somebody didn't like that idea, because a note hits the back of her head when said head was about to hit the desk. Ginny looks behind her, but there was nobody back there except Draco.

Cautiously, she picks up the small piece of paper, unfolds it, and reads.

Her eyes widen.

** vi. foreigners **

During Draco's last year, Hogwarts decided that it'd open its doors to foreign students.

Draco glances down at a small bunch of dark-haired, tan girls, gossiping together in a language he can't understand as he passes their corridor on the train.

He fleetingly thinks that he likes pale, red-haired girls much better...

...And wonders where _ that _ came from.

** vii. gross **

Ginny trails behind Harry and Ron as they comment on all of the gross, nasty things about Draco they can think of.

When she thinks about it, Ginny doesn't think he's really that bad.

** viii. happened **

Oh great. Now there was a bunch of people standing in a circle around them, gossiping loudly. Draco looks down to see Ginny glowering at him, as she busies herself picking up the books, quills, and other things that spilled out of her bag. Luckily, no ink seemed to spill.

He chances a glance at the crowd. They seem to be waiting for an explanation. Shit.

He just _ happened _ to bump into her. Yeah, that was it.

** ix. imagine **

Sometimes, Draco likes to imagine his parents weren't Death Eaters so that there was just a little chance that that Weasley girl would be in love with him, too.

** x. jar **

Ginny sometimes compares her heart to a jar. She can fill it with all kinds of things that she likes, or doesn't like. Little keepsakes of memories and love and hate.

There's another way, though, she knows from experience. It can be easily broken.

** xi. knight **

When Ginny was little, she always wanted her knight in shining armor to come and rescue her from all of her brother's taunts and take her somewhere where she could have things she wanted, someplace where everything she owned was new and someplace where everyone was nice to her.

When she grew older, her wish became simpler. She just wanted her knight to love her, and for her to love him back.

She just didn't expect that knight to be a Slytherin with greasy blonde hair and cold, gray eyes.

** xii. lesser **

Draco definitely won't admit it, but he thinks of Ginny as an equal, not a lesser witch.

** xiii. measuring **

Ginny grimaces as she measures octopus eyes for their next potion. The fifth and sixth years, for reasons beyond her, had their classes combined for a demonstration. Not only was it cramped and miserable inside the small dungeon-esque room, but she had to sit next to one of the most notorious Slytherins around- Draco Malfoy. Ugh.

It was exactly then that she felt a jab in her arm, that startled the cup, leaving her with octopus eyes rolling around like slimy marbles all around her.

Something confused her, though. She saw a thin, pale hand move down like it was going to help her pick up the things.

Not quite.

The hand found hers, and for some reason, she didn't flinch.

** xiv. name **

It was kind of like a drug.

She didn't want to be, but as soon as she heard the words 'Draco Malfoy', she was hooked.

** xvi. observation **

Ginny was good about getting to know people after being around them for awhile.

She observed she wanted to be near that Malfoy more than anyone else, for reasons beyond her.

** xvii. portrays **

Draco Malfoy often portrays an image of a cold-hearted bastard to others.

But Ginny knows that outward appearances aren't always correct.

**xviii. quoting**

Ginny looked down at her assignment for Defense Against Dark Arts. _ Name the top five ways to defend yourself against a vampire, quoting only one source. _

She glared at it. Quite frankly, that assignment was evil.

Now she'd have to cancel meeting Draco at Honeydukes.

** xix. rewrite **

Ginny was hunched over a desk far in the back of the Gryffindor common room. She was furiously scribbling something, but more often then not, then was a sound of the quill violently scratching something away and parchment hitting the wall behind her.

Hemione quirked an eyebrow, and decided to see if she needed help with her homework or something. However, what she saw were not equations or notes or dates, but instead a heading.

_ To Draco-- _

Hermione stopped herself from reading any further, although she thought that was quite a feat on her part. "Uh, Ginny? Are you sure that's right? Maybe you should... um... rewrite it."

"AUGH! That's PRIVATE!" Ginny shrieked, flailing herself over the letter, blushing furiously.

** xx. sooner **

Ginny was a stubborn girl.

So, it shouldn't've been too surprising to anyone that she decided that Draco would sooner than later, _ definitely _ fall in love with her.

** xxi. theft **

Ginny decided that after failed relationship number five in sixth year, that nobody would ever, ever have her heart again.

Too bad that somebody didn't seem to like that idea.

She glared at that stupid, greasy-haired Slytherin

That stupid, rude, annoying, theiving bastard that managed to get past her barriers protecting her heart without even trying.

** xxii. unpleasant **

Draco, Ginny decided, was most definitely unpleasant.

It wasn't too long before she started second-guessing herself.

** xxiii. visiting **

Draco stood quietly over Ginny's bunk in the nurse's room. His silver-gray eyes trailed over her body, from her flame-red hair, pale face, and the bandages covering her wrists.

'I'm sorry,' he thought hollowly as her chest rose one last time.

Magic can't heal everything.

Especially heartbreak.

** xxiv. weak **

The first thing that impresses Draco about that Weasley girl was that she wasn't your typical damsel in-distress.

** xxv. xxviii **

The twenty-eighth uninsulting word Draco ever said to Ginny was 'love'.

It was coupled with 'I' and 'you'.

** xxv. yellowish **

Draco stared at the yellowish liquid that was a sad excuse for Ginny's potion. One-by-one, thick bubbles slowly rose to the top and popped, sounding like somebody pulling a boot out of a thick puddle of mud.

He raised his eyebrow at her. "How am I supposed to tutor somebody with no talent at anything, Weasley girl?"

"If you kiss me, I might do better," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Ginny really hadn't expected him to take her seriously.

** xxvi. zero **

Zero is a powerful word. Everybody thinks it means 'nothing'.

But is that really true? What defines 'nothing'?

When Draco tried to convince himself that he hated the Weasley girl, that she was nothing to him, did he really mean nothing?

Or did he mean everything?

After all, nothing's just a word.


End file.
